Flying Free
by Senbazuruu
Summary: They took her freedom away, keeping her rooted to the ground, thinking that it rendered her harmless. Little did they know that Mikan would've grown wings far greater than before, surpassing them. Full summary inside. Gakuen Alice & Air Gear crossover.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary.  
_They took her freedom away, keeping her rooted to the ground, thinking that it rendered her harmless. Little did they know that Mikan would've grown wings far greater than before, surpassing them. But what comes in between her growth is beyond expectation. Lies and betrayal tore her apart. The truth had kept her going, and friendship brought her back together. But who would've thought that her growth would result in a tragedy, involving not just Alice Academy, but the entire country as well.

**A/N: **For those who haven't noticed yet, this is a crossover. I'm assuming that all you readers have at least some background information about** Air Gear & Gakuen Alice**. If not then it's recommended to watch the anime or read the manga !

**Disclaimer:** If I did own this, I'd be making a second season already.

**_Flying Free_  
**_by Senbazuruu_

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

**First Flight**

The sound of the alarm clock going off echoed in a room of black and white. A nest of honey brown hair shined as the sun slipped through the cracks of the dark curtains and showered the white bed with light. A loud crack was followed by a thump and then a disgruntled groan. The alarm clock had dented the pure wall and fell onto the black carpeted floor.

She sat up with half opened chamoisee orbs that stared blankly at one of the white walls.

"Another day waiting to be wasted . . . ," she mumbled. Her eyes landed on something pink, skates to be more precise, and then they darted to the broken clock on the floor. The brunette grumbled some colorful words as she got up and threw the broken clock out her window.

An uneven cracked voice shouted outside. "Mikan Sakura, this is the two-thousand-ninety-sixth one!"

"How nice of you to continue keeping count," said Mikan. She did her daily routine and walked out the door, only to hear a whirring machine sound. She turned around just in time to see a blur of carnelian.

"What was—" Mikan shook her head, thinking that it was just her imagination, and continued making her way towards homeroom.

"First things first. We're having a temporary student. He will be staying with us for a few days." Right on the cue, a raven haired lad skated in. Crimson eyes scanned each student slowly. Curious eyes stared at the skates the lad wore and murmurs filled the class.

The teacher whispered a few things to him and the new student's eyes narrowed. He clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. The teacher picked up a piece of chalk and turned to face the board to write the new student's name.

"Everyone, this is Hyuuga Natsume," said the teacher and the classroom was immediately full of squeals. It immediately lowered as the room began to heat up ten degrees per second.

"Shut _up_," he snarled and it was final.

_Damn, what a nasty temper_, thought Mikan as her eyes followed every move he made with the skates. Every slight movement he made seemed so graceful, which was the total opposite of what came with his words.

_Is that possible for me too?_

Mikan immediately jumped out of the classroom through the window and ran as fast as she could towards her room. No one noticed the absence of the brunette, except for a pair of sharp eyes.

Once Mikan reached her room, she immediately made her way to the pink skates laying under her desk. Seeing that it had collected a lot of dust over six years being in the academy, she lightly blew the dust away and wiped the remnants. As she ran her hands over the pale colored skates, she realized that they weren't just regular skates. When they were pressed lightly on the floor, a whirring sound echoed inside the wheels. Tiny bolts of electricity ran through the smooth surface of the white and pink paint splattered-like wheels. Amazingly, they did no harm at all.

"They're comfortable," she whispered after slipping the skates on and frowned. "It feels so nostalgic. . . "

The second she took a step with the skates, she slipped and fell down flat on her face. Rubbing her nose, she groaned in pain.

"You've got to be kidding. . . "

For the next thirty minutes, Mikan spent her time trying to walk in the skates, without any success.

"I need to get a life." Mikan sighed as she leaned against her window, only to slip and fall backwards over the edge.

"Are you kidding me?" she screamed, but was cut short when her body started to move automatically. Placing her feet sideways against the wall, using the skates as the brake, her fall slowed. _What in the world . . . ?_

However, in the end, she fell on her face again.

Mikan stood up and brushed off the leaves and groaned. "How many times will I eat dirt today?"

She stared down at the road she was standing on and then to her skates.

"Forget about walking," she mumbled.

Recalling the result of applying pressure to the wheels, she stepped firmly on the ground. Wheels began to turn and in an instant, she sped forward.

Mikan's laugh echoed through the forest she had entered. She jumped, twirled, and did flips in the air. The wind whipped gently around her, caressing her face.

When she returned her attention to what was ahead of her, she forgot how to breathe. Right below her was nothing, unless you count the forest a few hundred feet below.

"Oh please tell me I'm dreaming," she cried out in fear. "Holy fu—"

She was soon cut off by a flapping sound right next to her. Then another. And another.

Birds ranging from the doves to the pitch black crows to the majestic eagles gathered around. They flew near her, welcoming her with cries. Soon, her laughing made her way back to her throat.

"I'm flying . . . ," Mikan whispered and her heartbeat quickened from excitement.

"I'm _flying_!" She turned around and faced the sky, stretching her arm out in front of her face.

_I've never been this close to the sky before. _She imagined grabbing the clouds floating above her, but only grasped a handful of air.

_If only I flew higher, then maybe I could. . ._ , she thought.

She let another hearty laugh escape from her mouth and turned a hundred-eighty degrees to see a huge building in sight.

"How do I land?"

The wall of the building came closer and closer. Before Mikan could close her eyes, her body automatically moved.

_Ah, it's moving by itself again._

Her skates were against the wall, sliding down sideways. She bent her knees and jumped, grabbing the flagpole in front of her. With the pole perfectly in the gap between the two wheels on each of her skates, Mikan added more and more pressure. In a second, she accelerated and rode around the flagpole, quickly moving upwards by each second. When she reached the halfway point, she jumped towards the wall.

"Oh god. First, I became Superman and now Spiderman on the wall?" Mikan muttered.

Of course, her body continued to act before her brain. When Mikan's skates made contact with the wall, she started rotating in circles. That went on until she finally reached the roof.

"That was scary . . ." Mikan collapsed on to the floor and gasped for air. "Nearly killed myself."

She fell back, flat against the ground and stretched her tired limbs out. The only thing Mikan remembered was the wind gently blowing against her skin before she fell asleep.

_But it was really fun._

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

"Who the hell is she? Never saw her face around before."

"New student? But they never mentioned anything about it . . ."

"Is she from another section?"

"Most likely the AT Class."

"How the hell did she end up here? The AT section is located in the north, which is miles away!"

"That's probably the reason why she's knocked out."

"She's a trespasser."

"So . . . What are we going to do with her?"

Silence. Then a whirring sound.

"Report her to the Kings."

* * *

_Alice Class_ - For normal Alice users.

_AT Class_ - For normal students that rides inline skates, or Air Trecks. Students can join an existing team or create their own. The term Stormrider or Rider refers to everyone who rides Air Trecks, but it's mostly used for students who ride alone.

_Special Class_ - For students who have Alices and rides Air Trecks. Each student in this class are at least C class and above.

Yup yup. So here's the first chapter. Just a few changes here and there, nothing major. The story is mostly focused on Gakuen Alice, but it will definitely include the important characters from Air Gear.

Hope you guys liked it and don't hesitate to review !

**- Sen **


	2. Chapter 2

Hello there readers. I've been unable to log on my account for a long time and eventually lost my motivation and ideas for this story. However, I'd like to say that I'm back with new ideas and will be updating. I won't promise you that I'll be updating frequently, but I'll try my best. (: Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: If I did, then Natsume Hyuuga would've gotten better eyebrows.

**_Flying Free_  
**_by Senbazuruu_

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

**Second Flight**

No way. There is absolutely no fucking way that this is happening.

"I'm against it." My voice broke the silence as many pairs of eyes stared at me.

"But you must understand the danger that she can bring with her. Imai Hotaru, as one of the K—"

"Shut _up_ you old geezer," I snarled. "You do not have the right to order me around. This case was brought to this room, so we make the decisions. The Council of Elders cannot let out their voices in front of us. "

"It would be a different matter if this case is in front of the higher-ups," said the old man.

"Hey, hey. This little trespassing problem ain't the first. There's no way it'll go all the way to the stone-faced geezers." My eyes scanned through the room to see a nest of fiery hair through bamboo screens.

The old man sighed and said, "Fine, I understand. And the remaining votes?"

A few murmured an approval while the rest stayed silent. You've got to be kidding me.

"So, Imai-sama, that leaves you and Spitfire-sama with the only objection," said the old man.

"Che," I mumbled. Damn that fucking majority shit.

"How 'bout a li'l thought from me?" asked an Osaka accent. Heads bobbed in approval.

"Since that li'l girl can fly, why not give 'er a li'l experience of our section? She ain't gonna pose any threats if we use t'is plan when she starts acting funny."

Well, what do you know, Mikan? You've just hit the jackpot.

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

I focused on my surroundings. Black metal bars in front of me, chains on my wrists, and a wet cloth stuffed in my mouth. So this is what I get for napping on a roof? Wonderful.

"Not supposed to be 'ere, are ye?" A young man on a wheelchair rolled in front of the bar with slanted eyes and a white cap. I slowly shook my head. He fished something out of his pockets and shoved it into the keyhole. There was a small click and the door creaked open.

"Then hurry up 'n get outta 'ere," he said, his smile growing wider. I coughed and try to shove the cloth out of my mouth with my tongue.

When I finally got it out, I said, "I don't trust you."

He laughed and my eyes narrowed. "Straight to the point. Ah like ye, li'l girl."

"Ah'll be explaining some stuff 'n yer gonna tell me what ye think," he said.

"So, putting that to simpler words—what happens to me depends on my answer," I whispered.

"Bingo."

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

"Who the fuck is she?"

I placed my hand on top of the midget's navy blue hair.

"My one and only best friend and rival," I whispered slowly. He gaped at me.

"Wait, a friend?" he started. "Someone like you actually have friends?" I lifted my hand and smacked his head from the back.

"And what the shit? She's also your rival?" he shouted, rubbing his head at the same time.

"Damn. You're so damn annoying, Agito," I mumbled.

"Who would've thought that a person with no emotions like you would have a friend and a rival? Shocking," said Itsuki.

"Shut up, you fucking Crow," I hissed and sat down on the bench.

"Agito, you shitty little punk. You rubbed too much of your germs on her," whispered Itsuki.

"Fucking shit. Like I had any filthy germs to begin with," Agito growled. Idiots these days . . .

"Ah, Imai-san. Good, ye still 'ere," said an awfully familiar accent.

"What kind of bullshit does he want now . . . ," I mumbled.

"Mikan-chan, t'is is Imai Hotaru. She'll be taking ye around t'is section instead. If ye got any questions, don't hold back 'n just ask 'er."

The moment I turned my head around, I swore I had a whiplash. Those familiar innocent brown eyes were shining brightly, fascinated with everything in view. But something's wrong . . .

_Shouldn't she be throwing herself at me at this point?_

"Well, please take care of 'er, Imai. Ah'm actually in a bit of a rush."

When he left, Mikan said, "Nice to meet you, Imai-san. I'm Sakura Mikan."

I stood there dumbfounded, for the first time in my life. A nasty growl erupted from my throat and then all I saw was red.

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

"Dude. You gotta chillax," Itsuki said that afternoon during lunch while taking a seat next to Hotaru.

"Shut that damn little hole of yours, you son of a mother fucking crow," was her reply.

"Ouch," whispered a boy sand colored hair and pale olive eyes before bursting into a laughing fit with his partner in crime, a boy with slanted eyes and tawny hair.

"_Koko_."

When he heard his name coming out of the devil, he stopped laughing in a nanosecond and shoved a sandwich in his partner's mouth to save his life.

Hotaru looked up to see Natsume making his way towards her and Koko saying, _"The hell crawled up your ass and died, Imai?"_

(**A/N**: Natsume doesn't really talk much, all the dialogues are actually his thoughts read out loud by Koko. To prevent any confusion, I italicized all of Natsume's lines.)

"Hey there Natchan," shouted Kitsuneme with a toothy grin.

Natsume smacked his manga across Kitsuneme's face. _"Say my name right, you damn porcupine."_

Kitsuneme rubbed the red spot on his face, ignoring Natsume's comment, and then mumbled, "Someone pissed her off."

Itsuki bursted out laughing. "Never thought that anyone would be able to get the Ice Queen this pissed."

Natsume took a seat across from Hotaru and took a sip from the latte the robot placed in front of him. _"Who was it?"_

"Keep sticking your nose into my business and you will regret ever talking to me." Hotaru chucked her tray at a robot, who caught it skillfully, and left.

_"Imai, it's just a question."_

"That asks for something that you don't need to know."

The lad's amazingly short brow twitched. _"How hard is it to answer a question about another person?"_

In a second, Hotaru fished out a suspicious looking spray from her pockets and pressed the little nozzle in front of Natsume's nose. He sputtered and immediately started sneezing.

"Hmm, I wonder what your fangirls will say about those beautiful looking curls coming out of your nostrils," she sneered before making her way out of the building.

"Natchan," Koko said snickering, as he placed a hand on Natsume's shoulder, "I think I just died a little. . . " And so he bursted into another laughing fit.

Natsume's other unbelievably short brow twitched.

"Well, if I were you, Black Cat, I'd forget the nose hair and try to think of a way get Hotaru spray my eyebrows," Itsuki said loudly. The entire cafeteria went dead.

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

Mikan sighed for the umpteenth time. She furrowed her brows in confusion. All she did was introduce herself to Imai Hotaru, but what she received wasn't a warm response. She heard the nastiest growl from Hotaru and before she knew it, she saw her punch the little boy with blue hair into the sky with a horse shoe before disappearing. She was left dumbfounded in the middle of nowhere.

After skating a few more meters, she sat down by a cherry blossom tree. None of the buildings looked familiar to her. Fear started growing inside her.

Suddenly, a calming voice broke the silence. "Excuse me, are you alright?" Mikan looked up to see a pair of striking cerulean eyes. His blond hair glistened under the sunlight. Mikan opened her mouth, but then closed it again, not knowing what to say.

"I'm Ruka. Nogi Ruka. Are you new here?" he asked. Mikan shook her head.

"Sakura Mikan. I actually don't know where I am at the moment," she began. "Mr. Squinty-Eyes told me that Imai Hotaru was supposed to explain everything to me but. . . I think I got her angry or something. She suddenly knocked this little boy into the sky and then disappeared."

Ruka chuckled and said," Wow, now that's not surprising coming from Hotaru. Well, who's Mr. Squinty-Eyes?"

"Oh, he's this creepy weirdo with an Osaka dialect. He seems to be always on a wheelchair," said Mikan. Ruka's smile faltered.

"So _you_ were the trespasser," he said slowly. Mikan gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean? This is still Alice Academy, right?" Ruka shook his head.

"No. I mean, _yes_, it is," he stuttered, "but you're in a completely different part of the academy." Seeing that he just confused the brunette even more, he began explaining.

"First off, we're not in Tokyo at the moment; we're nowhere near it. We're actually on a private island owned by the principals of this school," he explained.

"So you're saying that this school is located on an unknown island?" asked Mikan, amazed. Ruka nodded.

"Correct. If you had a bird's eye view of the campus it would look somewhat like this." He grabbed a nearby twig and drew a star.

"The Alice section, occupied with only Alice users, is located in the west. The AT section, full of only Storm Riders, is located in the north. Then comes the Special section, where Storm Riders with Alices are, in the east. This was where your school was located and this is where you are now." he explained, while pointing at the west then east triangles.

"In the southeast, you have Alice Academy Headquarters. This is where all the teachers, higher-ups, and our principals are located. Then Central Town is in the southwest and the most important place in this academy is in the center of everything," he continued, "The Trophaeum Colosseum."

"Wait, hold on. What's with the ATs and Storm Riders and this Trophaeum thing you're talking about?" asked Mikan. Ruka gaped at her.

"Are you really asking that ? You're wearing ATs right now!" he exclaimed.

"But what are they? I know they're some kind of skates, but other than that, I don't think I know anything else," Mikan replied nervously.

"Wow," he breathed out, "Well, you should know about roller blades or skates. Air Trek is almost like that, but unlike roller blades that keeps you rooted to the ground, Air Treck allows you to fly. They evolved to become self-propelled skates, equipped with powerful suspension, air-cushioned systems, and ultra small motors in wheels."

"Wow. . . it's _that_ amazing?" said Mikan. Ruka flashed her a smile.

"It gives you _real_ freedom," he said with a light laugh and continued.

"Now, the Trophaeum Colosseum is an area where the AT class and the Special class can interact and have battles freely. It's a completely different world there. You can enter the Colosseum only if you have a teacher's permission or if you're participating in an official battle. If you were to enter without approval, punishment is inevitable and there's a possibility of the confiscation of your skates. . . if you're lucky enough to not have them destroyed.

"And also, the Colosseum is a bloody war zone. Sometimes, Riders receive injuries so great that they're handicapped for life. If you're unfortunate enough, you might die. The amount of bloodthirsty Storm Riders out here in the school is unbelievable." Ruka's brows furrowed.

"That's pretty intense." Mikan felt her stomach twist unpleasantly.

"It's actually not as bad as it used to be," he said with a faint smile. "Everything used to be so chaotic a decade ago. Air Treck was misused and everyone was out for each other's throats for territory. There was a time when things died down and the true value of these skates were finally noticed. It was all thanks to _her_, but. . . now that she's gone, it seems like everyone's falling back to their original states."

Right when Mikan was about to ask for the identity of the female Ruka mentioned, a huge explosion sent her flying towards the cherry blossom tree.

She groaned and looked up only to see a sea of fire in front her. A stranger emerged from the shades of red unscathed.

Red. His eyes were a deep shade of red, almost like blood. However, it wasn't the unusual pair of red eyes that caught her attention.

It was a mass of curly hair growing out from the stranger's nose.

Ruka, who clearly avoided the explosion, moved closer to the stranger, looking completely stupefied.

"_N-Natsume_?"

* * *

I don't know how this one really turned out. I kind of got stuck here and there while trying to have Ruka explain things. I hope you enjoyed it though ! (:

Leave a review !

_- Sen._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Only in my dreams.

**_Flying Free_  
**_by Senbazuruu_

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

**Third Flight**

"N-Natsume, what happened? What's with all that hair?" asked Ruka as he took a step closer. In the past ten years of living in the academy, no one dared to humiliate Hyuuga Natsume to this extent. Sure, there were a couple of times where embarrassing pictures of him when he was barely still considered a toddler were flashed across bulletin boards. There were other pictures of Natsume in his elementary days, caught off guard by Hotaru, and sold to his fan girls. He was mature enough to not make a big deal out of it, since he did get a small portion of the profit that Hotaru made. However, he was enraged beyond measures after she embarrassed him in such a repulsive way.

Natsume slammed his fist against a nearby tree and hissed, "Find that witch. _Now_."

Ruka knew he would suffer a third degree burn if he had refused. With a low hesitant whistle, a sparrow swooped down and circled around Ruka before landing on his shoulder.

"She's. . . ," he paused, listening to the bird's chirps, "heading towards us at the moment." He flinched at the dark look his best friend had on and slowly crept back to Mikan.

"Sakura-san, please leave this place," said Ruka in a hushed voice. He flashed her an apologetic look. "Natsume isn't the type to hold back the fire even on his friends, much less on strangers," said Ruka as he helped Mikan up. Instead of looking horrified, Mikan barely suppressed a laugh from escaping.

"S-Sakura-san? Why—"

"Sorry, Nogi-san," Mikan interrupted, letting her laughter out. "I don't get what's going on, but it's beyond me how you're not laughing at _that_." She pointed a shaky finger at the collection of hair under Natsume's nose.

"Please listen, Sakura-san, this is not the time to be joking around. Natsume can't think straight right now. You'll seriously get hurt."

In the midst of her laughing fit, she managed to say, "It's okay, he can't hurt me with his alice. I have the N—"

A monotonous tone interrupted her. "Mikan, you have 5 seconds to get rid of this fire before I send you flying like Agito."

In a flash, Hotaru was in view on her flying duck, sending Natsume a clean hit in his face with a dangerous looking gun. The brunette stared at the inventor, stunned. "H-how did you—"

"Three seconds," said Hotaru, pulling out another gun with a similar malicious glint. Without wasting another second hesitating, Mikan activated her alice and the sea of fire disappeared. Ruka gasped in astonishment.

As much as Natsume tried to reactivate his alice, not a single flame sparked. His eyes flickered knowingly at the brunette. "_You_," he snarled, "what did you do to me?"

Mikan opened and closed her mouth, too shock to utter anything. To her horror, Natsume began to make his way towards her, but was soon blasted away by a rubber bullet from Hotaru.

"I'm counting on you to prevent Hyuuga from using his alice," said Hotaru. A growl, followed by a few muffled words, was heard coming from Natsume as Hotaru ignored him.

Mikan was still frozen in spot, but managed to choke out, "A-alright."

She didn't understand what was going on, especially with Imai Hotaru. What baffled her was the fact that Hotaru knew about her Nullification, especially when the academy records had her weak Teleportation Alice listed and nothing else. It had struck her that Hotaru was a very intelligent person, probably even a genius, to be able to discover her dominant alice. Perhaps they had known each other before attending the academy. There were quite a few possibilities, but the latter seemed to explain the complex feelings of nostalgia and sadness washing over her.

"Sakura-san, your alice. . . ," started Ruka, interrupting her thoughts. Mikan bit her lip, now debating whether or not to reveal it.

She sighed in frustration before giving in. "Yes, I have the Nullification Alice." Ruka, noticing the pause, only nodded and didn't not press any further before turning his attention back to the fight. It did not last any longer when Hotaru had pulled out yet another invention. It was a canon with striking similarities with the guns Hotaru used earlier, but one could tell it was on another level. When Ruka landed his eyes on the invention, he gasped in horror and paled.

"Baka Canon v. 4.9.3," muttered Hotaru, aiming it directly at Natsume. "Say your prayers." He was quickly knocked unconscious when a black rubber ball emerged from the canon and made contact full speed with his stomach.

Hotaru flew back to the two spectators, stopping in front of Ruka. "Nogi, you need to watch over your best friend before he kills himself."

"I do keep an eye on him. Moreover, it was _your_ fault that this happened," he snapped. Hotaru glowered at him.

"He couldn't stick his nose out of my business."

Ruka sighed. "You know how he is." Hotaru clicked her tongue in annoyance and ended the conversation with a wave.

"Wait, Hotaru!" he exclaimed. "About you and Sakura. . ."

Hotaru shot him a glare. "I don't recall giving you permission to call me by my name, Nogi."

"B-but. . . ," he stuttered.

"You don't want to end up like Hyuuga, do you now?" said Hotaru as she flew towards Mikan, not bothering to hear his reply.

She stared at the brunette for a second before she said, "Don't fall behind."

In a second, Hotaru blasted forward, leaving a stumbling Mikan barely on track. Staring at the two distant figures, Ruka shook his head and made a mental note to pay a visit to the inventor's lab later on.

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

The only way to Hotaru's lab was going through a thick forest and past a waterfall about the size of Niagara Falls. For Imai Hotaru, it was pretty much like a stroll in a park, especially when she was riding on one of her inventions. However, for a newbie like Mikan, it was quite a challenge.

"I-Imai-san, please wait!" gasped Mikan, struggling for air. In a flash, Hotaru flew down from trees and back a few meters with an irritated look. Mikan flinched and slowly made eye contact with Hotaru.

"You are _not_ allowed to call me by my surname," she said, eyes warming up. "You're the only one who can call me Hotaru that I will respond to."

"W-why? Do you, by any chance, know about my pa—"

"Shush, you don't know who might be listening. We'll talk once we get back to my lab," Hotaru said quickly.

"Alright," replied Mikan as she watched Hotaru ascend a few feet.

"Stop skating on the ground, it'll be faster if you get up there," said Hotaru, tilting her head towards the trees. Mikan did what she was told and almost tripped from the speed she was going.

"Don't rush it. You'll keep your balance as long as your speed is steady," said Hotaru. Mikan sent her a small smile when she got the hang of it.

With Hotaru guiding her across the waterfall, they reached a clearing with a white building in no time.

Hotaru placed her left hand on a a green scanner and typed in a few digits with her right simultaneously. The door slid opened after matching the data.

"Come on, Mikan. We have a lot to discuss." Mikan stepped inside quickly after Hotaru before the door slammed shut.

They both settled in a room that looked like a lounge. Hotaru picked up a cup of tea that was delivered by a robot and offered the same to Mikan. She took a few sips and placed it back down.

"You can't remember anything, can you?" Mikan nearly dropped the cup she was holding. "All of your memories before entering Alice Academy." She shook her head.

"I can't. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked." cried Mikan, placing the cup down. "Nothing came over me like what happened today. . . when you said that you were counting on me to nullify Hyuuga-san's alice.

"Besides, only my Teleportation Alice is registered as my alice. No one knows about my Nullification. It's been barely a year since I discovered it myself!" she continued, "Perhaps we were once acquaintances?" Mikan gave Hotaru a hopeful look, but was soon replaced with shock as Hotaru placed her arms around Mikan and pulled her into a hug.

"Wha—"

"We didn't just know each other, we grew up and did everything together. You're my childhood friend," she said softly, breaking contact. "I've been waiting all these years for you, assuming that you'd be put in Special section if you were ever thrown in here. But who would've imagined that you'd have your memories sealed."

"A-are you telling the truth?" asked Mikan.

Hotaru looked straight into Mikan's eyes, unwavering. "I don't lie. Not to you, at least, and I will never."

Mikan managed to choke out," I-I can't believe this." Tears built up in her eyes. "After these six excruciating years of not knowing who I was. . . I finally found someone." She clasped her hands together against her forehead and sobbed.

With another silent yet heartwarming hug and a few pats here and there, Mikan finally calmed down.

"So, is there any way to remove the seal?" Her voice came out uneven and cracked from all the crying. Another cup of tea was filled, along with a few drops of honey, and handed to Mikan. She gave a small smile of gratitude and downed it in seconds.

"The person who sealed your memories was Himemiya-sama, one of the principals of Alice Academy," said Hotaru. "I've already been granted permission to unseal your memories." A bright mayan blue stone with tinges of amber and strands of gold appeared on Hotaru's palm. With a nod of approval, the stone was placed on Mikan's forehead. Ripples were formed as the stone was slowly absorbed. The brunette collapsed on the couch, with Hotaru still in her spot, holding Mikan's hand.

With the room empty with no one else but her and a sleeping Mikan, two tiny drops of tears fell from Hotaru, accompanied with a big smile. No, it was actually a small smile, but it was the biggest one Hotaru had shown in these six years without her best friend.

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

"Sakura Mikan, Teleportation Alice, born in Osaka," mumbled a male clad in formal attire with looks resembling an elementary kid.

"Come to think of it, _she_ was last seen in Osaka 15 years ago. They both have the same face, and with that alice. . ." he smirked. "There's no doubt about it."

A man walked in wearing a black masquerade mask covering only his eyes and a white uniform.

"You called, Kuonji-sama?" he asked. The young boy typed up a letter and handed it to the man.

"Give this to the Sky King," demanded Kuonji. The man saluted and left the room. Kuonji swiveld his chair to the view of the Special section outside his large windows.

"I finally found her," he laughed darkly. "You're going to fall right back to my cage, _Yuka_."

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

"Sora-sama! There is a letter addressed to you," exclaimed a man in a white lab coat. Sora lazily glanced at the white envelope and closed his eyes, laying still on an operation bed.

"From who?" he mumbled.

"Kuonji-sama." Sora quickly sat up from position and opened the envelope handed to him. His eyes flitted over the bold prints.

"My my, the li'l birdie 'as gotten 'erself in a bigger mess. Imai is gonna kill me for this," he laughed nervously.

"Sir, would you like to request for someone else from the Technical Class?" Sora lifted his legs, only to see metal pieces clank against each other as it fell on the floor.

"Not possible. She's the only one t'at could do the adjustments. The rest can't even tinker with it," he said darkly."Guess I won't be able to continue the clean up for a while." Sora pulled himself back on his wheelchair, sighing as the rest of the loose metal parts fell off entirely.

"Call the Black Cat 'here."

"Yes sir!" The man quickly bolted out of the room. Sora's eyes fluttered back to the letter he was holding, rereading it more slowly this time. He brought his hand to his face and sighed as he shook his head.

×.×.×.×.×.×.×

_Takeuchi Sora_,

_My dear Sky King, I have been told of the new student enrolled to my Special Section. I am disappointed that you did not make bringing her to me your priority, but to the Pledge Queen instead. Rest assured, I will be there to give her a special gift personally on her first day of enrollment. As for you, well, I believe you have requested for the Pledge Queen's maintenance today. Unfortunately, I have been just informed by the higher-ups that our dear Pledge Queen will be put under probation and will not be able to repair your legs. You are still to be expected to execute your nightly patrols. However, you are granted permission to use any means possible. Expect to be called for mandatory conferences regarding the traitor._

_- K._

* * *

Yes, I know it's been a while, I apologize for that. x: I actually had trouble writing this chapter, so if there were any confusing parts or questions, feel free to ask away. I'll do my best to answer them ! I'll try to make the next chapter much longer than this without breaking down halfway . x:

I'm not sure where Mikan grew up in the anime/manga, but judging from her accent in the anime, I thought it'd be Osaka. If there are errors regarding the characters or my writing itself, don't hesitate to point it out!

_Sen._


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